Ok, I lied....One more (for now....)

I think this one might be a keeper.

Another logo.  I clearly have too much time on my hands.....

Here is a logo I made up for my fantasy football team, which is named Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.  Woo Hoo.

The Dark Knight

Ok, before I get too far into this, I have to admit that I've been a Batman fan (regardless of the incarnation) as long as I can remember, and being 35, that means the only pop culture phenomenon that has diverted significant attention from the Bat Guy is Star Wars.

Over the years, I've been enthtralled by the old 60's TV show, Saturday morning cartoons and countless Batman themed toys and games. Oddly enough, aside from the odd comic book my Dad would buy me at the drug store, I didn't really know Batman as he appeared in his monthly comic books. In the mid 80's (I can't remember the exact year), DC Comics relaunched several of their heroes after "Crisis on Infinite Earths." While I had some interest in comics at that time (most boys do at some point in their lives), I hadn't spent much time collecting any outside of some Star Wars comics, and also a woefull series based on the television show "V". The post-Crisis relaunch of Superman generated some awareness outside of the typical comic book world, and my Dad prompted me to buy the "Man Of Steel" mini-series that would retell the origin of Superman. Issue #3 of this series featured the first meeting of Superman and Batman. The Batman here was a little bit different from the more "super heroic" version I'd always known. He was darker, a bit more ruthless, and until the end seemed almost like a villain rather than a hero.

Well, I stuck with Superman after the mini series gave way to 3 monthly titles, and it wasn't long before I picked up a couple of issues of Batman. Ultimately, I found a trade paperback copy of Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns". I wasn't at all prepared for what I found inside, but I was completely blown away. This story stuck with me the way few have in my life. All of a sudden, I was a "Bat Fan" again, and the Dark Knight was followed by "Batman: Year One", "Batman: Year Two", and finally both of his monthly books.

In 1989 (I think), Tim Burton's "Batman" hit theaters, and the movie was heavily influenced by the Millerized version. This was followed by 3 sequels, which I liked to some degree or another, until "Batman & Robin" came out and George Clooney pranced around like a modern day Adam West in a batsuit with nipples. Not a good movie, and this coming from a guy who still likes the 60's movie and TV show.

In 2005, Chris Nolan relaunched the franchise with "Batman Begins", which restored my faith in character, and incidently also rekindled my addiction to comics. That movie came the closest to portraying the character that I liked the best in the comics. The one that you could be under the right circumstances. The one who got by on sheer force of will and smarts rather than powers. I anxiously awaited the sequel.

Today, I saw the sequel, and while I think this version has strayed from the comics a bit more than I'd hoped, I don't mind because today I watched a truly amazing movie and I can honestly say that I have not been blown away by a Batman story to this degree since that day when I read "Dark Knight Returns." I won't pretend that it was a perfect movie, or that I liked every single second of it. But Christian Bale plays Batman the right way, the Nolan brothers write Batman the right way, and Chris Nolan directed the movie the right way. The cast is close to perfect -- top to bottom. Even the supporting characters ring true, and you do forget that this is a "comic book movie."

Everyone is talking about Heath Ledger's performance above all. Normally, I'm the guy who throws out a few "yeah, but..." lines at this point. "Dancing With Wolves" didn't feel like 3+ hours (yeah, but my butt thought it did). "40 Year Old Virgin" is one of the funniest movies every made (yeah, but while it had some great lines and bits, it was just too long for a comedy). You get the idea. Ledger's Joker was so much more amazing than I expected that I can't even begin to describe it. He is terrifying, funny, and for 152 minutes, I forgot I was watching an actor's final performance because I was watching a real life Batman fight the real life Joker. I guess the best words I can offer were those of my wife -- She was exhausted, and she didn't understand what he was all about. THAT'S the point of the Joker in this movie.

He is the ultimate flip side of the coin from Batman. He's always been that in the comics, and true to form, he is the flip side of Nolan's vision of Batman. We spent a 2+ hour movie exploring how and why Batman does what Batman does. For the Joker, he simply just is. We think we get an origin story of sorts early on in the movie, but he retells it a few times, and it's never the same story. The Joker here is pure anarchy, pure chaos and pure evil. He doesn't care about money, power -- none of that matters. As Michael Cain's Alfred puts it "Some men just want to watch the world burn."

The movie could stand some more humor -- "Begins" seems positively sunny in comparison -- but the story is so tightly knit and expertly executed that you don't feel cheated. The one caution I would give anyone is that if you have a child that wants to see the movie, especially if the child is under 13 -- read up on all you can, or even see the movie yourself before you let them see it. It is a violent, scary afair, and is clearly aimed at a more mature audience. This is not Adam West vs. Ceasar Romero, and it's not Michael Keaton vs. Jack Nicholson. It is a fascinating film filled with plenty of action and excitement, a great story and great acting.

New Adventures in Hi Fi - An Underrated Classic

So talking about Up in my previous post has me thinking that rather than move on to "Reveal" as I had intended, why not take a step back and look at Bill Berry's swan song with the band. After all, for as radical a departure as "Up" was for many fans, it was "New Adventures in Hi Fi" that really signalled that REM was no longer that rock band from Georgia that had conquered the charts.

By the time this album had come out, I think the mainstream was looking at "Monster", which was a hit album, and thinking "Ok, so now they are trying to sound grunge. Sellouts!" I don't really agree with that -- completely, that is -- and "Hi Fi" proved to me that the band I loved more than any other was still pushing their own boundaries and trying to make a record that challenged their fans.

Track 1 - How the West Was Won And Where It Got Us. A long title and a strange song. Sounds like something from a Clint Eastwood movie. I think this is one of the strongest songs on ANY of their albums, and a prime example of why it's criminal that so many people overlooked "Hi Fi."

Track 2 - A classic rocker. Much of this album was recorded 'live' during soundchecks and on the road. In some cases, it hurts what could be a great song, but here, it only adds to the vibe of the song. A great 2nd punch to the opener, and an essential track from the album. This one should have been a hit single.

Track 3 - New Test Leper. A pretty run-of-the-mill REM song. Not great, but good.

Track 4 - Undertow. Another song that benefits greatly from the 'live' atmosphere of the album. I think this is also one of their stronger tracks, and fit nicely when they played this on tour in support of "Monster". Like many of the better tracks here, it proves that REM can rock when they want to -- much better than any thing on "Monster" did.

Track 5 - E-Bow the Letter. One of the band's strangest singles ever. Choosing this as a first single is probably what killed interest for the album with the top 40 crowd. I know everyone in REM is a huge Patti Smith fan, so from that standpoint, it's kind of cool to hear her vocals. But, not being a fan of hers, it doesn't add much for me unless I'm in the mood for the song. I'd rank this as a 6.5/10. It is good, and I like the fact that it is not a typical REM song, but this one falls just short of essential in my book.

Track 6 - Leave. For a long time after I bought this CD, this was my least favorite track. It has grown on me over time, but clocking in over 7 minutes, it doesn't ever find that REM type groove that makes even their greatest departures good songs. Skipworthy when the ipod is on shuffle.

Track 7 - Departure. I like it, but sounds like a retread of track 4. This probably could have been trimmed from the album, but isn't exactly bad.

Track 8 - Bittersweet Me. A more classic sound, and also one of my favorites. As an aside, it is worth finding the CD single of this song to get the band's cover of "Witchita Lineman", which is fantastic. This is easily one of my favorite tracks from the album.

Track 9 - Be Mine. Many of my friends loved this song when we first heard the album. I don't hate it, but it's not a favorite. To me, this sounds like too obvious an attempt to write another "love" song that would make the crowd sway at a live show. This one merits a skip when the ipod's on shuffle.

Track 10 - Binky The Doormat. The title and Buck's guitar save this from the skipworthy pile. It's still far from essential, though.

Track 11 - Zither. I like this song, but it should have been a b-side.

Track 12 - So Fast, So Numb. A strong track, but does come off as extremely similar to Undertow and Departure. Fits the tone of the album well enough, though, that I'd rate it a bit higer on a scale of 1 to 10.

Track 13 - Low Desert. They went to the well one too many times and after track 12, this one just kind of fades into the mix and doesn't stand out. Much like "I Took Your Name" on "Monster", it's a rare REM track that is close to completely tuneless. Might have been better as a b-side as well.

Track 14 - Electrolite. My only real probablem with this song is that it does come off as a bit of a "Nightswimming" retread. It's a good song, and as I hear it on tour now, it does fit in well with the REM catalog.

Overall -- this is a much better album than it's given credit for. For a band that had produced 3 straight #1 albums, this is a gutsy move and you should tip your cap to them for trying to push in different directions rather than falling into a formula. My only real knock on this one is something that still stands out to me after 12 years....It was the first REM record I bought that just seemed too darn long. Trimming this one down to 12 tracks would have made it a classic. At 14 tracks and just over an hour long, it starts to lose you in the second half.

It's also hard to listen to now and not think of the fact that it seems to foreshadow a huge shift for the band. It's Berry's swan song, and as the band's "editor", you can already feel that his influence is slipping a bit. It is still well worth your time, but not the best of a great band.

More fun with R.E.M. albums -- Let's Talk About "Up"

I'm having fun with this whole track by track idea, and since no one is reading this anyway, might as well give myself an excuse to waste space until I can come up with something more important to write about.

So, I've spent some time looking at some recent albums, and going through them track by track and giving my thoughts. Now that we have Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" in our sweaty little hands, there's not much coming out in the next few weeks that I'm really excited about. I have continued to be on a bit of an R.E.M. kick, still think "Accelerate" is a good record, and find myself listening to some of their other recent outings in the 'aftermath' of their concert here in Chicago. So here is my track by track take on their first drummerless album, "Up", which hopefully will tell you a bit more about the album, given that it's now pushing 10 years old.

First off, I'd like to say that this is one of the more unfairly trashed albums they have released. No, it is not in a class with anything from the IRS years, much less the heyday of "Automatic..." and "Out of Time." It does have some interesting work, and unlike many of their releases since "Automatic", it does have a bit more cohesive sound.

Track 1 - Airport Man. This is/was the first signal that you were listening to a new REM. They had never put out something so atmospheric and synth heavy. On one hand, it's a nice way to set the mood for what follows, but at 4:14, it's a touch long. They used this to open the show as they took the stage when they toured for "Up", and from that point on, I liked it a bit more than I had just listening to it on album.

Track 2 - Lotus. The albums only rocker. It sounds REMish, but it doesn't. Initially, this was my favorite track. Over time, it has lost a little luster, but still holds up and fits in with my personal "Best of..." mix. There is a nice reference to "It's the End of the World..." in the lyrics, and has typically cryptic lyrics from Stipe. I feel a bit like this song morphed a bit after Berry's departure from the band, but probably would have wound up on this album in one form or another if the classic lineup had stayed in tact.

Track 3 - Suspicion. Aside from the electronic drums, I think this one fits in very well with the typical REM sound as well. From this track forward, the album takes a decidedly downbeat turn. The song structure here isn't a radical departure for the band, but the instrumentation gives it a unique feel. All in all, probably one of the stronger tracks on the album (at least in my opinion).

Track 4 - Hope. The first track on the album that feels like a Stipe solo effort. It is a bit peppier than many of the tracks, and not a terrible song, but the fact that it feels like a solo song hurts it a bit in the end.

Track 5 - At My Most Beautiful. Beautiful is a good way to describe this song. It's one of the few REM songs that is such an obvious 'Love Song'. Anyone who has read up on REM knows that Buck, Mills and Berry were huge Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fans, and that Stipe has never shared that passion. This was Stipe's way of tipping his cap to Brian Wilson sound, and he nails it head on. REM is not a band that is known for the vocal harmonies, but they sound fantastic on this track. To clarify that last comment, Mills's backing vocals have long been an integral part of the band's sound, but they've rarely taken the harmonies to this level.

Track 6 - The Apologist. The first track of the album that lets you know this one won't rank up there with most of their other work. It's an interesting song, but takes the downbeat mood a bit too far, and doesn't offer up the kind of interesting musical atmospherics to hold your interest. Skipworthy, unless you are in a specific mood for this album.

Track 7 - Sad Professor. This is Wendall Gee for a new age. Here, the vocals and music mix to create that kind of mood that REM conjures when they are at their best. Yeah, it's a slow, funeral dirge, but its a good one.

Track 8 - You're In The Air. I'd say this is the second occurrence of what I described for track 6. I do like this one a little bit better, but it's still not the high point of the album.

Track 9 - Walk Unafraid. I have mixed emotions on this track. Speaking purely of the track as it's heard here, I'd say it's a 5.5 on a scale of 10. It's just this side of leaning towards good. But, I've heard it live a few times, and it also appears on "REM Live", and hearing it sped up a bit and played by a full band gives it an urgency that shows it's a good song, but could have been better on album. I'd put this in the class of "Good if you're in the mood for 'Up', but not essential."

Track 10 - Why Not Smile. Another one that sounds like Stipe solo effort. Fits the ablum, but you'd skip it in any other context.

Track 11 - Daysleeper. It's easy to see why this was the choice for the first single. This one has great lyrics, too, once you get past the fact that it's an obvious nod to the days of "Automatic...". I'd say this one belongs on any "Best of" collection as well.

Track 12 - Diminished. The dark lyrics for this one give it a slight nudge to where it's also a 5.5 or 6 out of 10.

Track 13 - Parakeet. My least favorite on this disc, and by this point of the album, you're wishing that Lotus or Hope fit later in the track list.

Track 14 - Falls to Climb. Another forgettable track. Actually, it's not terrible, and might even fill a spot with some other classic album closers such as Wendall Gee, Find the River and Electrolite. Honestly, if they'd have trimmed this down to a 12 track album and made this track the closer following "Daysleeper", then the album would be much stronger, and this song would probably resonate with me more than it does. As it is, this is the "Oh yeah, this is the song where they say 'boney maroney' somewhere in the song."

So like I said -- this is an album that I think is panned a bit unfairly for what it isn't, rather than taken for what it is. I think there is some great stuff here, and this is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination. But, with Bill Berry's departure and a melancholy sound to even the most cheerful tracks on the album, it's hard to look at this as anything but a step down from a band that has produced some great albums.

Retracing Steps -- Track by Track on "Narrow Stairs"

I wanted to do this, then gave up, but changed my mind again -- so here we go with a track by track review of Death Cab for Cutie's "Narrow Stairs".

Track 1 - Bixby Canyon Ridge: This one starts off a little rough, but gets better as it winds along. This is definitely the type of track that needs a little time to grow on you before it hits that typical Death Cab place of floating around your head for days on end. I always pay particular attention to the opening track of any album because it sets the tone. Death Cab has done a mostly good job in choosing these songs...."Title Track", "The New Year" and "Marching Bands of Manhattan" are among my favorite songs by the band, and I doubt that its any accident that these are from the albums I count as my 3 favorite by the band.

Track 2 - I Will Possess Your Heart: This is a fantastic song. This isn't a band that excels at the extended jam, and rather than try here, they simply let the song build to the verse and chorus. Brilliant, and it will stick in your mind (I had to fight the urge to use "possess your..." there). Lyrically, this might be the creepiest song I've heard since "Every Breath You Take" by the Police.

Track 3 - No Sunshine: Didn't like it at first. Too bouncy, too cheesy. Saw the video the other day, and it's a rare glimpse into the sense of humor of a band that doesn't display it on record all that much. Since seeing the video, the song's been stuck in my head. So not an all time classic or anything, but a great pop song with some darker-than-you'd expect lyrics.

Track 4 - Cath....: One reason I was curious to hear this song...my wife is Katherine, goes by Kate, and HATES to be called Kathy and nears violence when she hears Kath. The opening guitar riff drew me in, and this became my favorite song on the album. There is always at least one song on each Death Cab album that compels you to dissect the lyrics and understand the story behind them. "Title and Registration", "What Sarah Said...", "Styrofoam Plates"....This one belongs with all of them. It's also the first Death Cab song I can think of that would sound just as much at home on another album as it does on it's own album. This one would fit perfectly on "We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes." That's a good thing if you don't know that album.

Track 5 - Talking Bird: Another thing every Death Cab album has featured is a song that just never clicks with me. So far, I skip this one every time through. Sometimes, these songs come back around, but I don't think this one will.

Track 6 - You Can Do Better Than Me: Prototypical Death Cab lyrics and song title. Musically, it sounds like an old Beach Boys song. A good track, but not one that transcends that "I'm in the mood to listen to DCFC" thing, so would be skipworthy in some cases.

Track 7 - Grapevine Fires: This might not make much sense, I suppose, but while "Cath..." is my favorite track on the album, "Grapevine Fires" is the best song. The lyrics are about the wildfires in California, but what makes this a great song is that you can dive into the lyrics and be rewarded, but musically, it's laid back piano shuffle is just as great. This belongs among the best of Death Cab, without a doubt.

Track 8 - Your New Twin Size Bed: Another prototypical Death Cab affair, but I like this one better than track 6. Nothing all that special about it, aside from that.

Track 9 - Long Division: Another standout. This is the closest they come to rocking out. The opening drums/bass rhythm suggest this might be a retread of "We Laugh Indoors", but from there it reminds me more of "Company Calls" than "Indoors"....that is also a good thing. This one will stick in your head, too.

Track 10 - Pity and Fear: It is not often that Death Cab reminds me of the Dave Matthews Band -- OK, never is a better word -- but this one does. DMB's "Before These Crowded Streets" featured several songs that had a middle eastern vibe to them, and that was the band's big departure from the norm at the time. That's immediately what I thought of when I first listened to this song. It's easily the most different Death Cab song I can think of, and for that alone it's a standout. Having said that, it's not a song that would have a place in your mind when taken outside of the album.

Track 11 - The Ice is Getting Thinner: Not bad, but this sounds like another version of "The Stable Song", which of course was a reworking of "Stableness". Fitting closer to the album, but not a strong track on its own.

Overall opinion -- Even with the benefit of some time to really digest the album, this one falls just short of my expectations. To be fair, my expectations were pretty high, so that's not to suggest that this isn't a very good album. "Transatlanticism" was my first exposure to DCFC, and remains my favorite. From there, I worked backwards and found that all of their work was solid, and often great. "Plans" stuck with me instantly -- I remember that just after buying that album, I felt like I had to listen to it at least once a day, which is a practice I haven't fallen into since high school when I couldn't afford a new album every couple of weeks. "Narrow Stairs" isn't sticking with me quite the same way. What I do really like about the album is that it's a proper album, much like all of Death Cab's outings besides "The Photo Album". The tracks each have their own merits, but are much better as part of a whole than most could possibly be on their own. That is something that is becoming more and more rare in today's music world. Another thing that I've liked about all of Death Cab's albums, and it's especially true here....There's room for 14 or 15 tracks on a CD, but Death Cab keeps things to 11 songs. While there is that one track that I don't like, it's a stronger album for keeping the skip-worthy fair to a minimum. If you're a fan of this band, you will like what you hear (you probably also have had this album for several weeks). If you're new to the band, this isn't a bad place to start, but there are better choices.

Death Cab, Coldplay and REM Live

It's been a long time since I've had something to say (obviously), so lot's to catch up on. First things first.....Please send your thoughts and best wishes to all of the people in the midwest dealing with the flood waters. If you can do more, you should.

Ok, on to the trivial stuff.

***Saw REM at the United Center on 6/6. 4th time I've seen the band, and it immediately leap frogged the preceeding two shows to be my second favorite REM show that I've seen. For grins, I've been reading some old reviews of REM's last couple of albums, and I find it funny to read that Reveal, Around the Sun and Accelerate were all reviewed as "return to form" efforts by several reviewers. Now, Accelerate is the closest to that mark, but you can read my thoughts on that in a previous post. Anyway, the show was fantastic. The National and Modest Mouse formed a great 1-2 punch as openers, and REM seemed to be having more fun playing live than I've seen since the Green tour. After opening with Living Well is the Best Revenge, we went 5 or 6 songs without hearing another from the new disc. That's mining your catalog. A few that I wish I could have heard (Driver 8, Auctioneer), a few I was thrilled to hear (These Days, Pretty Persuasion, Fall on Me with Mr. Johnny Marr) and a couple I wish they'd have skipped (Animal, Walk Unafraid), but all in all a fantastic show.

***I've been meaning to tackle Death Cab for Cutie's "Narrow Stairs" with the same track-by-track review as I did for Acclerate. I won't go into that much detail. It doesn't quite resonate with me the same way Plans and Transatlanticism did, but still is a VERY good album. There are some classic tracks, and the song "Cath...." would fit nicely on any of their discs, which is saying something when you consider that they haven't made a bad record yet.

***The real thing that has my brain spinning today is the new Coldplay. I am tempted to wait a month or so to say anything about it. When X&Y came out, I immediately told people that it was fantastic. But over time -- not that much time in fact -- it put me in a place where I was almost done with Coldplay altogether. For all the great moments on that disc, I could never shake the feeling that it was a big band feeling like they needed to make their big record, and while they succeeded more than failed, what I was left with was an album that didn't feel like a band effort. Slick production is fine, but sometimes a simple approach serves a song better, and nothing on X&Y sounded like that was the case.

Something I really hate about the CD era and now the digital download era is that the music industry seems to be compelled to always fill up the extra space allowed by the formats. More often than not, I come away from albums thinking that it would be a classic if only it weren't for those two songs in the middle that just suck. "Viva La Vida" shows this as well as any big new album does (Accelerate, at just over 1/2 an hour proves the point as well). This record feels like something the 4 band members did together. It has a unified feeling, and if you're an iTunes nerd like me, you'll actually be treated to that rare bonus track that is actually better than the album version (the song Lost).

The album is a bit of a stretch for the band, but doesn't stray so far that it doesn't sound like Coldplay. Thankfully, Brian Eno seems to have told Chris Martin that the falsetto is more effective when he DOESN'T use it on every song. It shows up, but feels much more in tune with the moment of the song where he busts it out. There are some departures -- Lovers in Japan is nice mid-tempo number that has a piano riff that would have been at home on any alterna-pop record that came out in the early 90's. Viva La Vida has an epic sound, and the phrase "That was when I ruled the world" will swirl in your mind long after you listen (if it's not already after seeing it in iTunes commercials). Violet Hill is as close to brooding rocker as these guys have ever churned out. There are also two hidden tracks that are nice diversions from the normal Coldplay formula.

This one probably won't win over all the Coldplay haters, although my wife comments that she doesn't mind the song from the aforementioned iTunes ad (Coldplay makes her cringe and sometimes leads to migranes). But if you liked their first two albums, and especially if you, like me, found X&Y to be good but a little disappointing, I think you'll be happy when you hear the new album.

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New R.E.M. CD

I've been quiet for a while, which would be a problem if there was someone besides me who'd read any of these posts. But on the odd chance that there is one other soul out there that might stumble on this site, apologies. I guess I haven't had much happening lately that has inspired me to write a post, that is until April 1, 2008 came along.

For me, this is the day that REM returned from a LONG break. Between 1987 and 1996, I can honestly say that a cheesy statement like "REM helped write the soundtrack to my life" is true. The moment that I became an REM fan was a family vacation to Colorado during the summer of '88. I was a surly teenager, and had a walkman and two cassettes -- One was a copy of Warren Zevon's "Sentimental Hygiene" and the other had "Document" and "Life's Rich Pageant". (REM was basically Zevon's backing band on that album, so in my mind, it was kind of an REM album).

I don't really know why, but for some reason, I played the heck out of those two cassettes during that trip, and something just clicked with me. I'd actually had the Document/Pageant tape for several months, but had never really latched onto it until that summer. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place with "Green", which came out the next November, then a group of kids played "Driver 8" at the school talent show, many of my friends were jumping on the REM bandwagon -- so they were cool -- and I bought a copy of "Eponymous". From that point on, they were my favorite band, and I searched through the back catalog of albums and became more and more entranced. Their grip on my musical world started to loosen a bit with "Monster", which I loved at the time, but tired of quickly. "New Adventures in Hi Fi" has improved with time to reflect on it, but it just had a few too many tracks. Then Bill Berry left and the band sounded lost. He may have just been the drummer, but I think his other main role in the band was to be the glue between the different sensibilities that the other 3 guys brought to the band. Stipe does the weird stuff, Mills goes the bubble gum pop route and Buck just wants to rock. Berry, I think, was the guy that tempered all of that and streamlined it into what we all now consider the REM sound. "Up" and "Reveal" are albums that I liked, but never really loved no matter how much I wanted to. "Up" was too mellow to really stick with me, and with "Reveal", I just think they tried to hard to marry the classic REM sound with the electronic stuff they'd been exploring. "Around the Sun" isn't a bad album, either, and for the first couple of days after I first heard it, I kinda half remember thinking "They are back and this record is good". When I think about that record now, I think its more a case of I just don't care about it rather than dislike it. Now I've got my hands on "Accelerate", and I'm going to stop just a bit short of the whole "REM is back" thing. But, that said, this is a very good record, and easily the best record they've put out since Hi Fi, and maybe the best since Automatic. So, since I haven't had anything to say for such a long time, I am going to waste lots of time and space by reviewing the record track by track (too much time on my hands? Maybe.....)

1. Living Well Is the Best Revenge: One of the most "rocking" songs they've ever written. Its a tough to sit still when you listen to this one. Stipe sounds angry and pissed off, and I'm fairly certain this is basically a flip off to anything that has annoyed him in the days since "Around the Sun" came out -- people writing the band off, the war in Iraq, whatever. The thing that struck me immediately on this track was how good it sounds to have that classic Stipe/Mills vocal sound back.

2. Man Sized Wreath: Nice 2nd track. Not really anything Earth shattering, but it does get stuck in your head, and again emphasizes that the harmonies from Mills was an ingredient that was sorely missed over the last couple of albums.

3. Supernatural Superserious: Great choice for the first single. Its more REM-sounding than the first two tracks. It does seem a bit weird to hear guys in their late 40s singing about the "Teenage Station", but as you listen you kind get that they are trying to say you never lose that feeling completely no matter how old you get. If there is a track on this album that will be a hit song, this could easily be it.

4. Hollow Man: The first time I listened to this song, I cringed. After 3 up-tempo songs, here was a song that sounded all too much like the worst of Reveal and Around the Sun. But then the chorus kicks in and you relax. Its more of a classic REM song, too. Definitely one that will stay in your head after you hear it.

5. Houston: Yet another track that starts out like an REM classic. This one's about the evil government and the aftermath of Hurricaine Katrina. Its not a bad song. The keyboard they use takes a bit to get used to, and is the token "New REM meets old REM" facet to the song. I guess if you really want to split hairs you could say that this is a bit to obvious for REM given their history of political commentary, but its good to see they can still write a good, straightforward political tune.

6. Accelerate: I lump this one in with "I Took Your Name" from Monster and "Low Desert" from HiFi. Mid to up tempo minor key rocker, not bad in the context of an album, but kind of forgettable. Not bad, just nothing overly special. It sounds like the kind of song you've heard before from REM.

7. Until the Day is Done: This one, too, feels a bit like a retread. But a much more classic retread. You've got the 12 string acoustic, which leads into the jangly electric guitar. Typical Stipe lyrics. Again, its the kind of thing you feel like REM does without thinking by now, just like Imitation of Life on Reveal, most of Out of Time, etc. Not that its a bad thing.

8. Mr. Richards: Ok, we're back to the fuzzy guitars and a bit more angry. I like this song quite a bit. Its classic REM at points, but also sounds like a new direction for them. This is a dark horse to be a single if this ends up being a hit album and spawns more than the one single. But musically and lyrically, one of the best on the album.

9. Sing for the Submarine: This is the one track that still hasn't grown on me, so I'll call it this albums version of "Bang and Blame". The one thing that does stand out is that Stipe drops references to past songs such as Electron Blue and Feeling Gravity's Pull. This is the closest thing to a skip-worthy song that Accelerate has to offer.

10. Horse to Water: When Pearl Jam's "Vs." album came out many years ago, I remember reading that "Elderly Woman..." was one of the best REM songs of the year. Well, if PJ wrote a good REM tune, then to me this is REM returning the favor. Its got a very hard edge, and the song definitely rocks. This one should kill at a live show.

11. I'm Gonna DJ: The strangest song on the album, but a good closer. This one actually showed up on REM Live. It has also been stuck in my head since the day that I downloaded the album off of itunes. It's a bit unREM-like, but that's why I like it. A fitting closer to this album.

If you bought the album on iTunes, you may have the option to buy some extra tracks -- mainly live versions of a few of the better tracks on the CD, and a couple of b-sides: Redhead Walking and Airliner. The former is a 60's style number, while the latter is a wipe out like guitar romp. Neither are bad, but you can see why they didn't make the cut for the proper album. The live versions sound good, but not radically different from the single versions, so they are only really for the die hard fans like me who get a kick out of that kind of thing.

Overall impressions: I won't say their back, because this isn't in the same league as my favorites - Murmur and Life's Rich Pageant, or my next tier of discs like Automatic, Green and Out of Time. I'd put it as the logical continuation of the live set attitude from Hi Fi, a bit of the fuzz guitar mind set from Monster and the angry, political themed tunes from Document. Monster loses some luster the more time goes by, so I'd say they beat that one this time out, and bettered Hi Fi if only because at 34 minutes, its a very brief ride, and many of the songs struggle to get to 2 minutes.

If you were a fan back in the 80s and 90s when REM was on top of their game, this is a welcome addition to the catalog. I don't know that the "kids" will latch onto it. I think REM has become too uncool to ever have a U2 style resurgence, but if they've done a record since Berry left that could spawn a true hit single, this is it. It is a must have if you are a fan (even if you've been away for awhile), and worth a listen for non-fans. It will definitely be stuck on my playlist for a bit longer than the last few records.

Ridiculous

Missed work with a flu bug on Wednesday. Since I was home, I decided to watch the Congressional hearing involving Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee and the Mitchell Report. As a huge baseball fan, not to mention a Yankees fan, all I can say is that this whole thing is just such a waste of time. Why is Congress involved in this? Don't they have more important things to do?

Look, the whole steroid era is questionable. We'll probably never really know the exact affect that the drugs have had and likely continue to have on the game. I don't mean to defend the users, because I think its a shame that they've done this to a game that I truly love. But is anyone really foolish enough to think that this problem is about the star players like Clemens and Bonds? They are the easy targets, but what about the two players with marginal talent that are about equal, and one gets a shot because he cheats? That's the bigger issue to me.

And that's just at the pro level....What about the kids who despite warnings from coaches and parents try to emulate their heroes by taking drugs. Worse yet, what about the kids that are encouraged to do so by their coaches and/or their parents. Its sickening when you think about it.

I heard someone say this morning that if Ryan Howard or Prince Fielder hit 60 home runs this season will anyone believe it. Its sad to me, because I have so many memories that have been tarnished by the scandal already -- The Sosa/McGwire HR chase in '98, the Yankees '98 team, Rick Ankiel last season...These are just a few, but any fan has the same list. It doesn't completely ruin all of it, but it does make you look at it in a whole new light. But to hold up one guy like Clemens ignores the fact that somewhere between 20% and 80% of the batters he faced were probably also guilty of using the same types of drugs. There are no easy answers to the problem, but dragging someone's name through the mud doesn't address the issue. It just leaves an even worse taste in your mouth.

Lost is definitely back

I don't want to spoil anything for those of you that haven't seen the latest episode yet. So instead, I'll just say that the first two episodes have been so @#$!@#$ good, even though I don't really get what's going on. I am counting the minutes until next Thursday so I can see what they come up with next. I sat through the whole episode, didn't really completely understand what was going on, and wanted to watch it all again as soon it was over to see what I missed.

This show is incredible.

A Great Super Bowl

(With the Album "Barenaked Ladies are Men" playing....)

Each year, I sit down to watch the Super Bowl and hope for one thing (with the exception of 1986 and 2007, when my favorite team -- the Bears -- were playing in the game). For a stretch there, it seemed like a game where one team didn't jump out to a 20 point lead would be good. But over the last 10 to 12 years or so, it seems this game has gotten closer and closer. More often than not, we enter the 4th quarter with the losing team still having a shred of hope.

This year's game was fantastic. You had a team making a bid for an historic win, and another on an historic streak looking to shock the world. The Giants did just that. I will brag a bit and say that when these two teams met in week 17, I turned to my wife and said "I have a funny feeling the Giants will make it to the Super Bowl". I believed it at the time, but I also thought that same week 17 game would spell the end of the Giants should they meet the Patriots. Having seen them once, I thought the Patriots would steamroll them and march on to history. I am happy that I was wrong, though I do feel a little bit of sympathy for the Patriots. To be this close and come up short -- I can't imagine how tough that is. I'm sick of the Patriots and don't really like them, but I do respect what they've done over the years, and I'd take any of their players on my team in a heartbeat.

I've never really liked the Giants much, either. I think Coughlin is kind of annoying, I get tired of Strahan and I think Plaxico Burress is kind of a jerk. But, I do like Eli and have followed his career. I saw him play at Ole Miss, and though I never really thought he'd be Peyton II, I knew he'd be a good NFL quarterback. I desperately wanted the Bears to draft him, and as he's struggled in New York, I had hoped the Bears could deal for him. That won't happen now, but I am glad to see he has taken full advantage of his chance to silence all his critics. That last drive proved the kid has the heart of a champion, and while he might not be Peyton, he is worthy of a Super Bowl ring.

So I'm happy the Giants win. We've got at least one more year of the '72 Dolphins and their champagne toast when the last unbeaten falls. The only thing I wanted and we didn't get was for Eli to get up on that podium and say "Hey Tiki....Who's comical now?" He's got too much class for that, but it would have been a great moment.

Its cold

A wild few days for Winter '08 here in Chicagoland. We started the day yesterday fairly mild for this time of year. I don't typically sit at work and stare at the little weather bug icon on my PC, but I do remember seeing the temperature as high as 50 during the day. In the afternoon, the temp started dropping, and by 6:00 pm, we were down under 10 degrees, the wind was howling, and snow was blowing all over the place and making it very tough to navigate the streets.

I don't mind winter that much. Truthfully, I don't think you can appreciate one season as much without the season before it, and I don't really ever care to live somewhere where the change between the seasons amounts to hot gets hotter. But when you jump from unseasonably warm to bitter cold in the span of an hour or two, that's a bit much to take.

A few more thoughts

A couple of things on my mind that didn't seem to fit the tone of my last post, but that I am an the mood to babble about.....

I recently finished reading a book by Jim Walsh that was an oral history of the rock band The Replacements. While I never had the good fortune (or misfortune?) of seeing the band live, their albums have been among my favorites and always take me back to high school and college. The music is great on a historic level, and I've always thought that if there were justice in the world that the Goo Goo Dolls would have to give at least 50% of every penny they made to Westerberg for stealing his stuff. Anyway, it was a great book and very interesting.

Second thing....I just downloaded the new album by New Zealand singer/songwriter Liam Finn. Another band that I latched onto in high school was Crowded House. They are another band that I don't think gets the due they deserve. Liam is the son of CH leader Neil Finn -- who in my mind is up there with Westerberg as one of the greatest songwriters of our times. His son seems to be a chip off the same block. His voice reminds you of dad, and while his sound will remind you of the older Finn's work, its not just a carbon copy. If you're a fan of Neil, check out Liam's album. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Not the way I intended to start off, but......

I didn't mean for so much time to pass since my last entry, but these things happen. Its been a weird start to 2008. First off, in my neck of the woods, the weather has been up and down. In the 3 weeks since New Year's, we've seen temps as high as 60 and as low as -10. That's a pretty wide gap, especially considering the reputation that "Chicago in winter" has.

We've also seen perhaps the most interesting political race that I can remember. I try hard not to subscribe to the thinkings of either party, but if pushed for an honest answer, I'd have to say I probably lean more towards the Democrats than to the Republican side of things. Obama/Clinton in particular is interesting to watch because you have the chance for a truly historic candidate with either person. I'm less enthused about the Republicans, but still interested in how it will all play out. Its about 1 year away that we'll be swearing in our new President, and I hope that all this "change" that is being talked about becomes reality.

Sports-wise, I have to brag for a moment and say I said to my wife during the last Patriots-Giants game that I had a funny feeling the Giants will make the Super Bowl. I'd be lying if I said I was 100% serious, but I did say it. I am not a Giants fan, but my sister is an Ole Miss grad, and as a result I have followed Eli's career, and have to say I am happy for him that he has this chance to silence some of his critics.

Another thing that is on my mind tonight is today's news that actor Heath Ledger was found dead. I really am still a bit in shock on this one, but I have to say that it is a shame that someone who is only 28 years old, has a young child and what seemed to be a world of talent is no longer with us. I have seen several of his movies, but I can't say that I've watched any of them because he is in them. I have been impressed with some of work, although I have not seen his most acclaimed performance (Brokeback Mountain). I've tried to watch it a time or two, but just can't make myself sit through it. I am a huge Batman fan -- have been since I was 4 or 5 -- and so I am somewhat ashamed to admit that one of my first thoughts was "Oh, I hope this doesn't affect 'The Dark Knight'." I have heard that his performance in the movie is pretty much incredible, so hopefully it will stand as a tribute to his work, and the movie will draw a few extra patrons that might not have taken the time otherwise.